RT correspondent wounded in Damascus suburb while filming in Syria

A member of RT’s news crew has been wounded by mortar shell shrapnel while filming a Syrian army special operation in the strategic town of Daraya, near the capital Damascus.

Syrian journalist Ibrahim Issa has been working for RT along with
Abu Talib Albouhaa, a correspondent for RT's Arabic sister
channel, Rossiya Al-Yaum. Just after they arrived in Daraya and
started filming, parts of a mortar shell - presumably fired from
the rebel-controlled area – struck Issa.

The mortar shell reportedly hit the building, near where Syrian
army troops were deployed and where RT’s crew was working.

“Me and my colleague, Ibrahim Issa, went at dawn today
(Sunday) to the area of eastern Ghouta to film reports, then we
moved to Daraya to film from there,” Ibrahim Issa said by
phone from Syria. “While filming, my colleague Ibrahim Issa
was slightly injured by shrapnel,” he added.

He said sustained injuries to his neck, but is now feeling well.

There are also reports that several soldiers have been injured.

Daraya is mainly controlled by Syrian troops. However, there are
parts of the town – especially those in close proximity to the
military air base of Mazzeh – that are still held by the Free
Syrian Army.

The recent operation was targeted at locating rebels.

Meanwhile, Iran’s FARS news agency reported that a Syrian army
unit discovered a three hundred-meter-long tunnel in Daraya,
which rebels have been using to transfer and store weapons and
ammunition, according to an anonymous official.

In January 2013 another RT Arabic team correspondent, Kamel
Saqer, was injured in Daraya. He had been caught in
crossfire in Syria while covering the army's operations outside
the capital.